Stormy build-up to a whitish Christmas

Travellers on Sunday will face tough going, but those hoping for an official white Christmas shouldn’t get their hopes up

December 20th, 2012 12:16 pm| by admin

National weather service DMI is predicting carmageddon on Sunday as winter weather could mean treacherous road conditions.

“It’ll come out of nowhere,” Olaf Mathiasson, a spokesperson for DMI warned. “Friday and Saturday will be cold but clear, as will Sunday morning. But by afternoon we’ll get the works – wind, sleet and snow.”

While the temperature was not expected fall below -2 degrees on December 23, strong south-westerly winds will bring up to 15cm of snow, followed by sleet. DMI urged people to avoid driving on the road that afternoon and evening for fear of icy conditions.

“Sleet can very dangerous,” Mathiasson said. “So if you’re planning on visiting family for the holiday season, make sure you do your traveling on December 22, or on December 24.”

Copenhagen residents can rest easy however, as the worst of the winter weather will be to the north and south of the city.

That also means that travellers from Copenhagen Airport will probably not be affected.

“Strong winds are only a problem if they blow across the runways,” Anne Mikkelsen, an airport spokesperson said. “But seeing as the winds are coming from the south-west, that means they’ll run directly parallel with our runways, which doesn’t cause any concern.”

Even though it may cause problems for some travellers, the winter weather means that most of Denmark will wake up to snow on December 24. Enjoy it while you can however, as an increase of temperature will mean a rapid snow melt by the end of the day.

Factfile | White Christmas Statistically speaking, there is an 8 percent chance of a white Christmas – technically defined as 90 percent of the country covered by at least 0.5cm of snow on December 24 – occurring in Denmark in any given year, or about once every 12 years. The last time was in 2010.